March 20, 2020
Late yesterday, Governor Lee conducted his daily 3:00 Press Conference and Update regarding COVID-19 and discussed his just released Executive Order #15. The order is extensive and is heavily focused on the health care industry. Many provisions in statutes and rules are suspended along other necessary measures to facilitate the treatment and containment of COVID-19.
The order, among other things, waives some health care Tennessee licensure requirements, expands scope of practice for some providers without additional supervision, waives some CON requirements for expansion of hospital beds, allows pharmacists to fill 90 day maintenance prescriptions without proper authorization, urges insurance companies to cover telemedicine for COVID19, and waives the renewal or expiration of driver licenses for 6 months. More specifically, it does the following:
- Section 2 – Provides the Commissioner of Health the authority to permit health care professionals living in another state to practice in TN without a TN license. Forms will be posted on the Department’s website.
- Section 3 – Permits pharmacists to dispense maintenance prescriptions without authorization for up to 90 day for maintenance purposes, as necessary to respond to and prevent the spread of COVID-19. State restrictions on opioid prescriptions remain in place.
- Section 4- Permits home health visits by professionals who do not meet TN licensing requirements. (Necessary as a result of Section 2).
- Section 5 – Relieves nurse practitioners that have certificates of fitness from (1) certain filing requirements with the Board of Nursing, (2) chart review requirements, and (3) requirements for physician visits to remote sites.
- Section 6 – Relieves physician assistants from same requirements summarized in Section 5.
- Section 7 – Extends expiration date of facility and health care professional licenses for 3 months.
- Section 8- Permits pharmacists and pharmacy techs to process prescriptions remotely including from residences, subject to HIPAA compliance. This section does not alter regulation of pharmacy facility, recordkeeping or medication storage or dispensing.
- Section 9 – Permits the Commissioner of Health to allow unlicensed individuals to work as medical lab technologists for corona virus research, provided the individuals are employed by a medical laboratory and working under the supervision of the medical laboratory director, and further provided the individuals are postdoctoral fellows in a biological science.
- Section 10 – Suspends CON requirements for hospitals to add new beds or diagnostic facilities in order to respond to COVID-19.
- Section 11- Permits the addition of testing sites for COVID-19 without prior approval by the Medical Laboratory Board; laboratories must notify the Board of alternate sites.
- Section 12 – Permits construction of temporary structures in response to COVID-19 without plans review; structures will be subject to safety inspections.
- Section 38 – Permits telemedicine services by pain management clinics and for nonmalignant chronic pain.
MARCH 19, 2020
Governor Lee’s Administration is now providing a daily update to Tennesseans on the COVID-19 virus and has created a website specifically for Tennessee COVID-19 Updates. The impact on state government continues to evolve daily and there have been major shifts that impact how the public interacts with state government.
The Lee Administration announced that over 15,000 state employees are currently working from home using the Alternative Workplace Solutions program through March 31st. This is a sizable portion of total state employee workforce, and the state is readying equipment so another 8,400 employees can telework by week’s end. Lee also noted that 37 percent of Tennessee State Employees are unable to perform their roles using Alternative Workspace Solutions. Further, state employees have been instructed to cease all non-essential business travel through March 31.
Vendors that work with state government have also seen changes as more and more meetings are held remotely or are canceled altogether when at all possible.
Lee also announced assistance for small businesses. Noting that 94 percent of Tennessee businesses have fewer than 50 employees, Lee said that any small business or nonprofit impacted by COVID-19 can apply for low interest loans of up to $2 million.
The General Assembly is working feverishly to pass a budget this week, shelving all other legislative matters unless it is deemed “essential.” The State of Tennessee had expected a large surplus of revenue that could have been spent on many key initiatives. When Governor Lee first released his proposed budget in January there was over a billion dollars of non-recurring dollars and approximately nine hundred million recurring dollars budgeted to be spent. Given the expectation that future state tax revenues will take a large dip in the coming months due to COVID-19, the Governor’s Office and the Legislature are negotiating a budget that is scaled down considerably. Governor Lee unveiled his budget amendment on Wednesday, March 18 with nearly a billion dollars in new funding from the original proposed budget shelved for the year.
The General Assembly is expected to pass a budget no later than Saturday, March 21 and then take a recess to reconvene potentially in June. Depending on the impact of COVID-19, the Legislature could possibly take up other legislation and budget items in June, subject to revenue projections. This is obviously a fluid situation, and there is an expectation that there will be changes to this plan as the state learns more on what the impact to COVID-19 is on the state.
Below you will find links to the Governor’s Executive Orders and other notices related to COVID-19:
Governor Lee COVID-19 Webpage
Governor Lee Announces Coronavirus Task Force
Gov. Bill Lee Issues Executive Order Declaring State of Emergency
Gov. Bill Lee Issues Guidance for Mass Gatherings, Schools, State Employees, and the State Capitol Building
Governor Lee Issues Statement Regarding Statewide School Closure
Joint Statement from Governor Bill Lee, Lt. Governor Randy McNally and Speaker Cameron Sexton
Information on Small Business Loans
Tennessee Department of Health COVID-19 Resources
TennCare Information about Coronavirus
